[rmwoods34]

My wife and I are will be moving to the Las Vegas area in several months and are seeking advice about which areas or neighborhoods would be best for our living situation. Right now, we are looking to rent for at least a year before committing to buying a home.

We are looking for either a single family home or townhouse and are looking to spend no more than $1,300 a month. We have a dog but no children so schools aren't incredibly important for us at this point.

We are coming from an urban area in the Midwest (Madison), where amenities are very close by. Bars and restaurants are within walking range and things like shops and grocery stores are a short (5 min) drive. We've both visited the area several times, first just as tourists and then, once we got more serious about moving, as potential residents. One thing we noticed is that there's not many mixed use communities like what we're used to. Las Vegas is much larger and much more spread out than Madison so that's understandable. But are there any pockets where such developments exist? Or are we just going to have to get used to driving 10-15 minutes when we want to go out for a drink or a bite to eat?

Overall, Madison is a very safe area as well. My wife and I never feel unsafe walking our dog at night, or walking home late. Again, a lot of that can be attributed to living in a smaller community, so we're not naive to think that same sense of peace can be found everywhere in Las Vegas. But we're at least looking for somewhere where vandalism and burglaries are rare.

We liked parts of the Green Valley area in Henderson because it seemed to have a lot of amenities nearby. But it also seemed to be at the very top of our price range and we'd be giving up some things on our wish list to get in. We've also heard good things about Summerlin, though it seems like we'd be facing the same problem, cost-wise. Any other options that would be slightly less pricy?

Thanks for your help.

[ddrhazy]

Sounds like you want to live by a locals Casino so that you can walk to the casino's club in your night club clothes.

[qingguy]

We were in your shoes in 2012 (except with an 11 yo son). Moved here in July, rented a 4/3 home in 89130 for around $1,800 a mo (there are cheaper) and toured neighborhoods while we lived here. We landed in 89131. It's a bit further out than most want, but that's exactly what we like about it. Also, we have decent dining and entertainment options all within 5 - 10 minutes from our home.

Prices are still pretty good vs. other areas. My realtor told us that a similar home to ours in Summerlin with small gated community (18 homes) with the lot we have would be at least $100,000+ more than what we paid.

I think everyone is going to say, "our neighborhood is the best." My point is, I think you have a good plan waiting a year and looking around. Others will say why waste the money on rent. I can tell you why and it cost me dearly, we HATED, HATED the neighborhood we rented in. I cannot imagine having bought a home there and being stuck. When I said it cost me dearly, the home we ended-up purchasing sold for $120,000 less in July of 2012 than I paid for it in August of 2013 and even with that $120,000 OUCH I'm glad we rented. Who would have thought the market would rebound that fast in 12 months . . . my point its, I don't think you're going to have that type of exposure, maybe 5-8% depending on where you buy, but in my opinion it's worth not living in an area that you're going to regret. My .02.

So take a look in the area south of Decatur and North of Grand Teton, it's pretty nice up here.

EDIT - I didn't mean to minimize the price increase = equity gain I would have realized if I'd purchased in 2012 vs 2013, trust me, would I have loved to had that type of equity swing and sold it a year later, hell yea. However the net with improvements that needed to be made, realtor commissions on the sale, closing costs etc. would have eaten a lot of the gains. Just didn't want to minimize that type of money.

[Raiderman]

Originally Posted by rmwoods34

My wife and I are will be moving to the Las Vegas area in several months and are seeking advice about which areas or neighborhoods would be best for our living situation. Right now, we are looking to rent for at least a year before committing to buying a home.

We are looking for either a single family home or townhouse and are looking to spend no more than $1,300 a month. We have a dog but no children so schools aren't incredibly important for us at this point.

We are coming from an urban area in the Midwest (Madison), where amenities are very close by. Bars and restaurants are within walking range and things like shops and grocery stores are a short (5 min) drive. We've both visited the area several times, first just as tourists and then, once we got more serious about moving, as potential residents. One thing we noticed is that there's not many mixed use communities like what we're used to. Las Vegas is much larger and much more spread out than Madison so that's understandable. But are there any pockets where such developments exist? Or are we just going to have to get used to driving 10-15 minutes when we want to go out for a drink or a bite to eat?

Overall, Madison is a very safe area as well. My wife and I never feel unsafe walking our dog at night, or walking home late. Again, a lot of that can be attributed to living in a smaller community, so we're not naive to think that same sense of peace can be found everywhere in Las Vegas. But we're at least looking for somewhere where vandalism and burglaries are rare.

We liked parts of the Green Valley area in Henderson because it seemed to have a lot of amenities nearby. But it also seemed to be at the very top of our price range and we'd be giving up some things on our wish list to get in. We've also heard good things about Summerlin, though it seems like we'd be facing the same problem, cost-wise. Any other options that would be slightly less pricy?

Thanks for your help.

We live in Green Valley and pay a couple hundred more than that for a house, but there are some in that range in our neighborhood.

In 5 minutes, we can walk to:
Smith's
Walgreens
8 restaurants
Dry cleaner
Bank
Medical clinic

We're about a 15 minute walk from the District, which has quite a few stores, restaurants, and a casino.

We have had no vandalism, but have had an attempted burglary in our neighborhood in the past 2 years.

Other than here, we have friends in Spring Valley who also have many amenities within walking distance. They are in the Trop/Jones area.


Hope you find what you're looking for!

[soccerscotty21]

Cost to Home ratio is best in the north end of town - north of Craig and West of I-15. There are some pockets of more ghetto areas north of Craig, but generally it's quiet and cheaper. The further you go towards the outskirts of town the quieter and safer it tends to get - there are still some affordable areas in the pecos and centennial areas as well as the far northwest corner of town. Summerlin is nice but will definitely be more expensive than the north end of town - same goes for anything in the south end of town.

Sounds to me like north end is your best bet, just make sure you stay West of I-15 and north of Craig - North town gets a bad rap but the area i'm talking about isn't the "north town" that everyone talks about.

[rmwoods34]

Originally Posted by ddrhazy

Sounds like you want to live by a locals Casino so that you can walk to the casino's club in your night club clothes.

I'm assuming that you're trying to be sarcastic.

That's not at all what we're looking for. Yes, we are a young couple and we enjoy doing things like exploring nearby restaurants and bars but we don't "do" the club scene and neither of us are interested in revisiting our college years. What I'm asking is if there are any neighborhoods or areas where you see a decent mix of residential homes and businesses. From what we've noticed, in our limited experience, is that those things are very much separated here, with housing developments in one area and businesses and entertainment elsewhere. Obviously, if that's how it is across the Las Vegas area, that's not a deal breaker by any means and we would easily get used to becoming more car dependent. But we wanted to at least try to see if any of those areas existed before committing to a property.

[rmwoods34]

Thanks for the help so far. You've all given us a great starting point for our search!

[rmwoods34]

Originally Posted by Raiderman

We live in Green Valley and pay a couple hundred more than that for a house, but there are some in that range in our neighborhood.

In 5 minutes, we can walk to:
Smith's
Walgreens
8 restaurants
Dry cleaner
Bank
Medical clinic

We're about a 15 minute walk from the District, which has quite a few stores, restaurants, and a casino.

We have had no vandalism, but have had an attempted burglary in our neighborhood in the past 2 years.

Other than here, we have friends in Spring Valley who also have many amenities within walking distance. They are in the Trop/Jones area.


Hope you find what you're looking for!

What area of Green Valley are you located in? We noticed there was a slight difference in Green Valley North vs South when we visited.

[Raiderman]

We are in Legacy. Wigwam/Green Valley Parkway. There are 1800 sqft homes for rent in the neighborhood that would meet with your budget. It's an ideal location for us. We're less than a mile from the 215, a mile from The District, and have all of the shopping we could ever want on Stephanie St. It's a nice location in Green Valley South, as we don't ever have to go on Eastern which can get congested with traffic.

When we purchase, we'll be looking at South of Warm Sprngs, West of Gibson, North of Horizon Ridge, and East of Eastern.

[yellowsnow]

When it's 100+ degrees outside you won't want to walk anywhere. You will arrive needing another shower!

I live in 89121. It's a working class area and most of the people have families. It is very diverse. On my little dead end street we have every color you can imagine and we all know each other. We play hopscotch with the neighbor kids out in the street sometimes. The guy across the street from me, retired Air Force Colonel, is on oxygen so we all check on him. You could probably rent a house with a pool in my neighborhood for 1K.

I can walk to Smith's, Cardenas, Walmart, the library, post office, and more eateries than I can name. Lots of neighborhood bars too. My SO's cousin is staying with us from NYC and he says it's more walkable than his area of Brooklyn was and he doesn't drive. He is looking for a place to live in this area. We do walk a lot in winter but in summer we will be driving like everyone else.

This area is urban and there is crime. I don't find it scary at all. I am just aware of my surroundings. I do walk my dogs in the evening alone but I wouldn't at 2am. Urban is the price you pay for walkable. I have been here since 2008 and my car was vandalized once when I did a dumb thing and left it parked on the street. Turned out some kids went on a rampage with a baseball bat and tore up a bunch of mailboxes and whatever else they could hit from the comfort of their car. Other than that, it has been very safe. I do lock my doors but I would do that in Summerlin and Green Valley too.

Anyway, there are choices outside those 2 areas. Since you don't have to worry about kids and schools, other areas might be easier on the pocketbook! If I had young kids I would probably live in Henderson too!